Vintage Film Photography - SX 70 Poleriod Land Camera

Hello.

I hope you all are doing well this Monday :) And since I have to wait on Support Your Fellow Crafter for a little bit, I thought I'd share some recent photography experiences I had the pleasure of having :)

I had the privilege to accompany both children on their spring field trip this year and decided it was time to bust out the vintage film photography cameras :) My oldest child was visiting Lake Ray Roberts State Park, just north of Sanger Texas for a day of hiking, pond life exploration, fishing and wild animal education! It was so much fun! Not just for my kid, but for me!

My second child has a trip to our very own, Dallas Arboretum. Truly a beautiful and amazing place with the most gorgeous flowers and plants I have ever seen! They have a very involved children's garden :)

I decided to take my SX-70 Polaroid Land camera on both and managed to score some amazing shots.

Note: even though the film may be brand new, photographs from a vintage camera ALWAYS have that beautiful old times feel and the patinas are to die for!

Check out some of my shots from our hiking trip. All black and white sx70 instant film from 1960s vintage Poleriod land camera:

So incredibly mysterious looking and the black and white sets the tone for the subject matter here - definitely!

Bones always tend to create interesting and captivating photographs. The rawness and texture of the subject matter lends for very moving photographs.

Even with a fault in the film on this last one, the feeling remains and the subject matter is translated into a lonely and dreary feeling.

I only managed to get a few great Poleriod photographs at the Arboretum due to the weather being overcast :( But I did have a few that I was really proud of!

This one by far was my most impressive exposure. These flowers are so delicate looking and the patina provided by the camera aged this photograph by years! Also the focus of this particular camera is astounding :)

Though this last one is out of focus (due to my sons jumping on my back) I adored how it came out! Life is almost never in focus - you enter each day blind and you never know what is just over the bridge ;)

I was hoping to have some shots from my vintage Minolta 35 mm, but alas...the battery died :(

Enjoy the gift of photography!

Comment below with your beautiful pictures! I would very much love to see them.

xoxo

Ginger

I will linking up to these awesome parties!

DIY Compost Bin

Hello.

Just let me say, I love gardening! Not only is it a great pastime and stress re-leaver, but there are so many environmental and health benefits as well. It is so satisfying watching things grow and having the security of growing my own food. In addition, a great garden, whether it is a vegetable/fruit or flower garden, can create a wonderful backyard habitat that will make you want to stay out all day long :)

Gardening certainly wasn't always easy for me. As a matter of fact my first three years yielded nothing more than a few lettuce leaves here or there. But I would not give up and over the years, I have come to understand what plants work best for my lifestyle and what type of garden works best.

And I've learned many tricks along the way ;) One of the most important would be the compost bin. 

I used to think a compost pile/bin would be  gross! Smelly, full of spoiled/rotting garbage and bugs, etc. But I've come to learn gardening and compost come hand in hand. And as it turns out, none of those fears held water - except maybe rolly polly bugs ;)

Since deciding to compost, I've had several fails. First, I tried a compost pile in one corner of the yard. My first mistake was not using the container method. The wind blew everything everywhere and it did not maintain the proper level of moisture. 

After some no-go container attempts, I've since decided a giant 20" pot is best for me. I like to work in small batches of compost. Obviously if you have a very large garden, you can try the garbage tote system, etc. 

This is my bin. Wide open top for easy "stirring".

Drainage holes in the bottom of the pot are a plus.

And the existing tray in the bottom promotes air flow. Now to start your mixture ;) 

My second fail when starting to compost was improper ratio of compost ingredients. This is the recipe I like to use and I think it works really well :)

First I start with a dry filler. Here is a separate bin of grass clippings that have dried out. Note I also add a trowel full of fireplace ash to my compost for PH balance. Ash is also good for acid loving plants. But remember a little goes a long way ;)

I fill the bin about a quarter of the way with dry filler. Other dry fillers could include dried fall leaves, straw/hay or bulk dried corn husks - which work great for keeping up compost during fall and winter months.

Then I throw a layer of dirt in there. This could be any dirt - I tend to use the soil left over from the previous years hanging baskets, etc. The dirt will hold water - which we'll add later.

Then add a layer of "green" filler or "wet" filler. Bulk green fillers could be fresh grass clippings or a bucket of weeds you've pulled. 

In addition, I love to throw in organic kitchen waste: egg shells, coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit waste and/or peels, even animal blood!

There are also several everyday home products you can find biodegradable versions of, such as toilet paper, paper towels, feminine products - even tooth brushes. But for now I'm sticking with the basics.

Then I add another light layer of dry filler. I then will add a little water to the mix. I have a fish pond so I generally will grab a cup or so of pond water, which will be full of nitrates.

You can always mix plant food with water and add or just stick to plain water altogether. 

Then mix well with a trowel or shovel and let sit to work its magic. I generally will turn the mixture once a week or so. If it has been very hot I'll add a little more water and mix more often to evenly distribute moisture. 

I add a layer of compost while planting new crops in my beds as well as a thin layer to potted plants. So start gardening!

Enjoy.

xoxo

Ginger

I'm linking up to these awesome parties!

My Vegetable Garden

Hello.

So I wanted to give a little tour of my vegetable garden :) I love gardening and have worked pretty hard the last few years to get it right! Gardening isn't always so cut and dry -_-

Sadly, I've had several epic fails, but after a lot of research and experimenting, I know what works best for my lifestyle and the types of plants I want to grow :) Let's check it out!

Here is my main garden. I love raised beds. Practically fool proof ;) 

And super easy to construct. The wood plank I snagged from the remnant pile at Home Depot for 75% off. I had a few 2 x 4 pieces at home from another project. Add a few screws and done. I added four tall posts on each corner so I could cover the garden with plastic if needed.

In the raised bed, I have cauliflower, cabbage, hot pepper plants, three types of lettuce (butter crisp, romaine, and red leafy) onions and carrots.

I also have quite a bit in large containers. I prefer to put "bushy" type plants in containers, like tomato, green beans and sweet potato.

You can see here my first few little babies coming in!

I also wanted to try some berries this year so here are my blueberry and black berry bushes.

My brother in law built this large wooden planter and I have some spinach starting up here. 

In smaller pots, I have some bell peppers and strawberries :)

I did several vegetable plants from seeds this year; spinach, arugula, carrots and green beans. But everything else, I just went for young plants. Cuts down on the waiting!

My lettuces are looking gorgeous!

It's so amazing to plant, water and nurture your own food! I'm very excited to harvest this year :)

Enjoy!

xoxo

Ginger

I'm linking up to these awesome parties!

Summer Fun in the Sun!

One of the greatest pleasures a kiddo has in the world...

is playing with cups of water?

Yup.  Forget a pony, just a cooler of water and a cup.

Have fun outside this summer!!!

Ginger

xoxo

Jack's Fishing Adventure!

So my folks took Jack and his cousins up to Lake Texoma for the weekend...and I was a little nervous.

Remember this lake experience?

Anyhoo, so I was a little concerned about how Jack would handle being there.

Well my folks have been keeping me informed on how its going so far...

and its going GREAT!

He's playing, hiking...

AND FISHING!

"Papi" is right there teaching him how to make the perfect cast with his little Pixar Cars fishing pole and to wait for a little nibble.
So cute.

And the biggest catch of the day?

 Was Jack's!

I am SO proud..cannot even tell you. 
I only wish I could have been there.

Ginger

SSB

Family of Nerds!

Alrighty...so remember when I mentioned that we were going to my folks house for swimming fun???

My dad took a bunch of pics of us...and just added a few things.

Don't I look lovely?

How do we look??
Being silly is so much fun...

Ginger

SSB

I'm linking:

We Did it Wednesday at Sew Much Ado
Show and Tell Wednesday at Blue Cricket Design
Creative Flow Tuesday at These Creative Juices
Strut your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple
Show Off Your Stuff Thursday at Fireflies & Jellybeans
Hook'n Up Thursday at House of Hepworths
What You're Work'n With Wednesdays at Me and My Bucket
Tot Tuesdays at Delicious Ambiguity
Hoo's Got Talent at Night Owl Crafting
What Little Boys are Made Of at 733
Plant a Punkin Seed at Punkin Seed Production

Summer Fun!

Gett'n ready for summer by swimming up a storm!  Last week, we made a quick trip to the lake!

Jack was NOT a fan...

He kept saying, "I don't like this water! I don't like this water!".

But Sam...LOVED IT.  We bought a little blow-up baby boat and he drifted around with me, swaying in the waves.

Meanwhile, Daddy was stuck on shore with Mr. Fusspot (aka Jack).

So we're heading to Mimi and Papi's house this afternoon to swim at their house.  Jack calls it the "good pool".  LOL!  Love him.

Everyone have an AWESOME weekend!!!!

Ginger

SSB